The present invention relates to food product dispensing equipment and, more particularly, but not by way of limitation to a method and apparatus for the lengthened preservation and safer dispensing of an aseptic food product with minimum introduction of contaminants thereto.
As changing consumer lifestyles have increasingly resulted in an emphasis on speed and convenience, foodborne illness of microbial origin has become a most serious food and beverage safety issue. As more consumers rely on manufacturers and food stores for food-safety protection, food and beverage providers must take heightened steps to eliminate those risks most often responsible for foodborne illness. In particular, the food producer, distributor and retailer must work toward the elimination of foodborne hazards resulting from improper holding temperature and post-production contamination, factors that according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention were responsible for nearly 80% of outbreaks in a recent survey period.
In the past, food and beverage providers have addressed microbial-related foodborne illness issues through adherence to food safety recommendations based upon temperature and acidity. These guidelines, however, essentially only extend the time required for a risk to become a hazard, in the case of refrigeration, or sidestep the problem by categorizing certain products as too acidic to support microbial activity. Unfortunately, refrigeration only slows microbial activity and recent studies reveal that previously established acidity-based recommendations may not sufficiently eliminate risks from some pathogens.
More recently, food and beverage providers have turned to technological advances in food preparation and handling to address some of the shortcomings of refrigeration and acidity level based approaches. One such advance is the irradiation of low acid type products, such as milk, yogurt and ice cream. In practice, the low acid product is heated or pasteurized, sealed in a sterile package and then treated with a radiation source to result in an entirely aseptic product having a significantly extended shelf life without requirement for refrigeration. Unfortunately, the known aseptic products remain free from contamination only to the time of dispensing, at which point airborne or otherwise introduced microbial agents restart the spoilage process.
As a result of dispensing related contamination, even aseptically produced products require constant refrigeration or rapid turnover once removed from their packaging. In the case of low acid, milk-based products this entails at least daily cleaning and sterilization of the product dispenserxe2x80x94typically at the expense of a significant labor investment. Unfortunately, the investment in labor for the required cleaning operations is not the only disadvantage of known dispensing systems. The labor intensive cleaning operation is also faulted for the human introduction of the very contaminants sought to be avoided. For example, inadequate cleaning of known dispensing systems by exposed persons has been repeatedly linked to outbreaks of human listeriosis, which can cause stillbirths, miscarriages, meningitis, sepsis and the like, especially in elderly or otherwise immunocompromised hosts.
With the shortcomings of the prior art clearly in mind, it is an overriding object of the present invention to improve upon the prior art by providing a dispensing system wherein an aseptic product may be delivered as near as possible to the consumer without introduction of microbial agents, thereby generally increasing the safety of dispensed food and beverage products. It is a further object of the present invention to provide such a system wherein the labor resources required for maintenance are reduced and the opportunity for human introduction of contaminants minimized. It is a still further object of the present invention to provide such a system wherein product waste is minimized, thereby contributing to increased profits without compromise of the provided consumer safety features.
In accordance with the foregoing objects, the present inventionxe2x80x94an aseptic product dispensing systemxe2x80x94generally comprises a sanitary connection assembly interposed in fluid communication with a substantially conventional aseptic product source and a substantially conventional product dispenser. According to the preferred embodiment, the sanitary connection assembly is provided with an automated cleaning system whereby a combination of pressurized gas, water and/or sanitizing solution may be injected into, and thereafter evacuated from, the sanitary connection assembly.
A first portion of the sanitary connection assembly remains in fixed fluid communication with the product dispenser while a second portion of the sanitary connection assembly, which may be selectively isolated from the first portion according to the actuation of an interposed valve, is releasably connected to the aseptic product source. According to the preferred method of the present invention, the aseptic product source is connected to the second portion of the sanitary connection assembly while the interposed valve is closed to isolate the first portion of the sanitary connection assembly. Once the aseptic product source is connected, the second portion of the sanitary connection assembly is flushed with the automated cleaning system, whereafter the interposed valve may be opened to allow the sanitary communication of aseptic product into the product dispenser.
The automated cleaning system of the aseptic product dispensing system generally includes a source of pressurized sanitizing solution, a source of pressurized flushing fluid and a source of pressurized gas, each in selective fluid communication with the flushing inlet of the sanitary connection assembly through interposed flow-control valves. An integrated microprocessor based controller of conventional implementation is provided for operative control of the valves of the sanitary connection assembly and automated cleaning system. This controller generally interfaces with a plurality of sensors or transducers and a plurality of valve controllers to detect the presence or absence of product in the various stages of the dispensing system and to monitor the valve positions and component connections. The controller then controls the valve positions and fluid flows in response to the sensed or monitored inputs.
Finally, many other features, objects and advantages of the present invention will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the relevant arts, especially in light of the foregoing discussions and the following drawings and exemplary detailed description and the claims drawn thereto.